Plant Based B12 Food Sources

B12 is very commonly known as the meat vitamin. As we know, B12 is free from plant-based products, it’s majorly derived from animal-based products. And this is the reason 90% of the Asian population faces this deficiency. It is also a commonly neglected vitamin by many people. Some traces of B12 are made by the gut to protect from major concerns in the future, but that’s not the solution unfortunately. The RDA for B12 in adults is 2.4 mcg/day and 2.6 mcg/day for lactating women. Requirements vary as per age factor and lifestyle as well.

As per research, vegetarian diets are high in fiber and carbohydrates due to which the intrinsic factor gets affected and B12 deficiency is commonly observed. There is also sub–classification of vegetarian diets like – Jainism diet, Veganism, Lacto vegetarian diet, Ovo vegetarian diet….

Plant-Based Vitamin B12 Rich Foods

• Yeast
• Spirulina-algae
• Traces of Nuts and Seeds
• Fortification of Cereals and Milk
• Fermented Beans
• Edible mushrooms

Hence the only solution to this for all types of vegetarians is adequate nutritional supplementation with a proper balanced diet (rich in fortified foods especially) would help to some extent in decreasing clinical symptoms.